


three figures on your heart

by torigates



Category: Bones (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-11
Updated: 2013-11-11
Packaged: 2018-01-01 03:40:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1039922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torigates/pseuds/torigates
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If no one had told Bones that he wasn’t really dead, then he had gotten off lightly with that punch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	three figures on your heart

He thought someone had told her. He thought she _knew_ , goddammit.

But if no one had told Bones that he wasn't really dead, then he had gotten off lightly with that punch.

On the other hand, if she hadn’t known then she should have been more upset. Booth knew people liked to think that Dr. Temperance Brennan was cold and unfeeling, but he knew better. Bones _should_ have been crying. As much as they liked to dance around their relationship, Booth knew he’d be wrecked without her.

When Booth saw that gun pointed at her, he’d only ever been that scared one other time in his life, and that was when he thought Epps might have his son.

For Bones to say that his funeral was _a waste of time_ –

And so Seeley Booth found himself, a grown man, drinking beer, smoking a cigar, listening to loud music and reading comic books in the bathtub.

It was a stressful time, ok? Not to mention that he has missed Bones these last two weeks (not that he would ever admit that to her, mind you) and to top it all off, Gormagon, that creepy son of a bitch, was back.

Temperance Brennan bursting into his bathroom where he was _naked_ really wasn’t helping things.

“What the hell do you want now, Bones?” He asked exasperated, “’Cause I’m not really feeling too relaxed here.”

He could tell she was angry. “You should have told me you weren’t dead,” she said.

Booth’s tired. “I already explained this to you,” he said weary. “The Bureau has to vet everyone when there is a security issue. I was just following protocol.” Booth knows it’s a flimsy excuse, but he really did believe she had been told he wasn’t dead. _She should have been told._

“Protocol?”

“Yes!” Booth had hoped that appealing to her logic would work, but she’s angry. Maybe even angrier than he’s ever seen her.

“We’ve been partners for three years, Booth!” She shouted. “And you’ve broken protocol before, sometimes putting my life in danger, which makes sense because you clearly don’t have any real concern for me!”

Booth was tired, but Brennan’s words made him angry. He forgot where they were, the boundaries of their relationship and everything they haven’t said. He only had one thought in his head as he got to his feet. “I took a bullet for you!”

“Once!” She counters, “That only goes so far.”

That was when the reality of their situation sunk in, but Booth wasn’t embarrassed. He took a bullet for this woman and he would do it again in a heartbeat.

He finally got her to leave, but she wasn’t satisfied. Neither was he, if he’s being honest. The Gormagon case, his death – they’re both on edge.

Once the awkwardness of the encounter wore off Booth got angry again. He’s done more than take a bullet for her.

A lot more.

His bath was ruined. After hanging up with Cam he was counting on some pizza to cheer him up.

What he wasn’t counting on was Temperance Brennan pacing in his living room.

“Bones –”

“I’m mad at you, Booth,” she said.

“I noticed.”

“Well,” she prompted.

“Well, what Bones? I don’t know what more you want from me! You want me to say I’m sorry? I did. You want me to say you should have been told? _You were the first person on my list!_ I don’t know why you weren’t told, and I already said I’d find out!”

“That’s not enough,” she said.

“Then what! Tell me, Bones,” he pleaded.

“I want to know that you care about me.”

“Because taking a bullet isn’t enough.”

“No,” she said simply. “It’s not.”

“What about the time _you shot me_ , or the time I broke the law so your brother could visit his daughter, or the time I rescued you from Kenton, or the time I flew to New Orleans and _stole evidence_ for you? Huh? When do those things count? What about the time I got _fired_ for helping your brother, or the time I said _under oath_ that you could have committed _murder_ when we both know that was a lie!” He looked her in the eye, “Maybe you should think about those things before accusing _me_ of not caring! _You_ were the one who said my funeral was a waste of time! You didn’t even cry when you thought I was dead.”

“I cried for you, Booth!”

He drew in a sharp breath. “What?”

“I cried for you, but I was – I am mostly angry with you.”

“Bones –”

“My parents, Russ – they left me. And I thought. I thought – I _couldn’t_ -”

“Bones –”

“So, no. It’s not enough, Booth.”

“Bones,” he started but he didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know how to tell her, how to show her. “They were supposed to tell you,” he said at last. “I wanted you to know. You were the first person I wanted to know.”

She turned to him and it’s maybe the first time she really looked at him since she slugged him at the cemetery. He held her gaze.

“You matter,” He said. She tried to turn her head away, but Booth can’t let her, not now. He placed his hand under her chin and turner her to face him. “You matter to me, Bones. I care.”

Maybe it’s enough, and maybe it’s not, but he could sense the moment the anger deflated out of her.

She put her head against his chest and Booth could feel his heart beating.

He’s glad to be alive, to be here now with her. She cried for him and Booth knows that means something big.

“Do you want some pizza?” He asked after a moment. “I was going to order some dinner before you so rudely interrupted my bath.”

“Rudely?” She exclaimed.

“Yes, Bones. Normally people knock before entering another person’s bathroom.” The playful spark was not quite there, but the accusation was finally gone from her eyes.

The two of them stood there staring at each other. “Do you want some pizza or not?” He finally asked.

“Will you order whole wheat crust?” She asked.

“Yeah, Bones. I will.” He wondered if maybe that would finally be enough. If whole wheat crust would be the catalyst that said he was there for good.

Later, when she said “Zach. It was Zach,” he saw her heart break a little, and he remembered her saying, ‘We’re all of us your squints.’ He believed that now.

It was hard to accept that was just a year ago, and that Zach had just confessed to murder.

“I’m sorry you had to kill someone,” she told him. “I know you hate that.”

He thought about Zach saying he could still be useful, Cam’s face when she asked ‘Are you absolutely sure?’ He thought about Angela telling Zach they all loved him, and Hodgins holding a box. He thought about Bones.

Maybe this one was worth it.

Two years ago. ‘We all die a little, Bones. With each shot we all die a little.’

He was right, and this one was going to cost them all a lot more.

“Nobody blames you,” he told her instead.

She pressed her face into his shoulder. “Is he going to be ok?”

“I don’t know,” he said honestly, “Are you?”

Another case, another friend. Booth thought about Sam, and what could have happened. He remembered a moment leaning against Bones and a million moments since then.

Something is coming. Something that has been building for three years. It’s big, and scary and _them_. But not yet.

“Not yet.”


End file.
